SOLUTION: Pete, Mike and John are cousins. Pete's age is one-third of Mike's age and John's age is five years older than Mike's. If the sum of the ages of the cousins is 40, what are their a

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Question 834127: Pete, Mike and John are cousins. Pete's age is one-third of Mike's age and John's age is five years older than Mike's. If the sum of the ages of the cousins is 40, what are their ages?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
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Write an equation for each statement
:
Pete, Mike and John are cousins.
Pete's age is one-third of Mike's age
p = 1%2F3*m
and John's age is five years older than Mike's.
j = m+5
If the sum of the ages of the cousins is 40,
p + m + j = 40
Replace p and j from the 1st and 2nd equations, find m
1%2F3m + m + (m+5) = 40
1%2F3m + 2m = 40 - 5
1%2F3m + 2m = 35
multiply by 3 to get rid of the fraction
m + 6m = 105
7m = 105
m = 105/7
m = 15 is Mikes age
then
p = 1%2F3*15
p = 5 is Pete's age
and
j = 15 + 5
j = 20 is John's
:
Note that the three ages do indeed, add up to 40